Reasons
by fren
Summary: Ling Tong wants to know why the pirate saves him. Gan Ning wants to know why the nunchakuwielder needs to be saved. NingTong. Oneshot.


Disclaimer-- I don't own Ling Tong...or Gan Ning...or even Dynasty Warriors, for that matter. What a sad existence. T.T

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One, two, three...

Shit. _That_ many already? No way... _No way_.

Four, five, six...

Wait. _That_ battle? Did that even _count_ as a rescue?

Seven...

Okay. Let's say it didn't.

...Aw, but there was still that last one...

Seven.

Well, shit.

Tong thrust his head upward to face the heavens, howling in anguish. Saved by a _killer_. A _father_-killer. What would his father think of him? Tong was ashamed enough, but what would his _father_ think?

It was enough to rip out more of his hair. But that wouldn't solve anything. No. He had to confront the pirate, himself.

The tattooed general wasn't difficult to track down. Tong soon met him going the opposite direction down a corridor of the palace.

"I need to talk to you about the upcoming battle," Tong said.

The other man cocked his head slightly to the side, scowling. "So talk."

Tong swallowed, thinking the words over in his head before laying it out for the pirate to hear. "I don't care what happens. But next time Sun Quan sends you to help me, _don't_. I know how to take care of myself and my troops." Tong expected the pirate to object. To protest, and say it wasn't in his power to disobey orders from their lord. Tong had a ready argument for _that_.

But instead, Gan Ning said, "He doesn't send me." Before Tong was able to register that, the other general continued. "I take time outta my day to rescue your stupid ass without being asked to. And I'll keep rescuing you every time you get yourself into one of those idiot situations. So how about you stop?"

Tong hadn't noticed he was clenching his teeth before he tried to speak. "How about _you_ stop?"

The pirate cocked an eyebrow, glancing upwards for a moment. Then-- "No."

"_Why not_?"

"Isn't it obvious?" The gaze returned to Tong's.

"_No_." Clenched teeth again. "Tell me."

The pirate walked forward and Tong stood his ground, glaring. He thought Gan Ning would just walk right past him, the rude ass the father-killer was. And when their shoulders bumped, Tong thought Gan Ning was still just being a rude ass. But then he realized how close they were.

Close enough for Tong to feel a pressure on his chest as Gan Ning's brushed along. They might've bumped heads when Tong looked up to glare once more.

And instead, Tong was suddenly lost in a powerful stare. He could only look back, suddenly losing the ability to move or speak. He just watched as the tips of the pirate's mouth turned upwards, and as a smirk became more apparent, a sharp canine was revealed.

Then, Gan Ning spoke and Tong felt his breath on his face, sour and smelling like alcohol.

When the pirate...former-pirate...rude ass...father-killer...

When _he_ was gone...

Tong was almost swaying. He felt dizzy; it was probably the work of the stupid pirate's bad breath. Or...it could've been the touch, the gaze, the chaotic emotions suddenly crashing down and swirling in Tong's mind...

It could've been Gan Ning's words:

_"Cuz I like you."_

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O-O

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O-O

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Three, four...

It was starting to get ridiculous.

Five...

Today was...six.

Alright. Enough. This had to stop.

Ning tore from the round of celebrating soldiers, away from the warmth of the campfire. He found the tent quickly, though anyone else who passed it by might have easily confused it with the other rows of tents identical to it.

The former-pirate dove through the flaps of this tent.

"_HEY_, you!"

A figure in the bed sheets of the tent started and Ning soon recognized a face through the dark, and he prided himself on finding the right tent.

"W-What the heck do you think you're doing?" Ling Tong demanded, sitting up away from the tattooed general.

"What the hell do you think _you're_ doing?" Ning snapped back.

The nunchaku-wielder gaped at him for just a moment before answering heatedly. "This is _my tent_! My _private_ tent! Get out!"

"I don't care what it is---_you're_ the one who keeps fucking up on the battlefield, and _I'm_ the one who's stuck making up for it! Like today---the ambush---what the hell was _that_ about? _Anyone_ could tell it was a trap and you just marched your troops right in the middle of it!"

"No one said you _have_ to come save me every single time; in fact, I even _told_ you _not_ to!" Ling Tong huffed, glaring at the other man. "Besides, _you're_ the one who showed up late!"

"_Late_? _You're_ the one running head-first into trouble like some kinda moron---almost like you're setting yourself up to be resc..." Ning stopped then, now taking in Ling Tong's current appearance. The hung head, the tense shoulders... Then, he _was_ doing everything on purpose. Ning spoke again, "Why the hell are you doing _that_?"

"Isn't it obvious?"

Ning blinked, immediately recognizing the words. He smirked a bit, and decided to follow the run of dialogue. His superiors constantly berated him about his impaired ability to remember things...yet every word of their last conversation remained fresh in his mind.

"No," Ning said. He loped towards the nunchaku-wielder, until he was very close, until he could feel his own breath rebound back to him from the other man's skin. "Tell me."

Tong had frozen, muscles tense as he kept looking away. Ning touched the nunchaku-wielder's jaw, forcing Ling Tong to face him. He snickered when the nunchaku-wielder closed his eyes tightly and stiffened even more. It was too dark to tell, but he might've even been blushing.

"Cuz--"

Lips halted in speech as a rougher pair met them.

This close, the former-pirate could feel the heat of Ling Tong's blush.

Ning had always thought Tong talked too much. But, whatever, he got the gist of what was supposed to be said.

_"Cuz I like you, too."_


End file.
